One of the biggest points of contention with Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans in 2014 was the play at cornerback.
With projected starters Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen having nightmare seasons, the Steelers were forced to turn to nickel corner William Gay and journeyman such as Brice McCain and Antwan Blake. Though this trio’s play was far from horrible, it made many openly question why the Steelers once again overlooked the position in the 2014 draft.
Despite of question marks at the position going into last year’s draft, the Steelers passed on a number of intriguing first-round options at corner, including Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard, and TCU’s Jason Verrett.
If the Steelers do decide to use a first round pick at corner in this year’s draft, another Michigan State product, Trae Waynes or Oregon’s Ifo Ekpre-Olomu might be considered. There’s reason to believe both could be available when the Steelers have the No. 22 overall pick, and Waynes is a personal favorite.
Though many believe the Steelers might finally use a valuable first round pick on a cornerback, there are plenty of reasons to doubt they will. After all, it’s been nearly 20 years since they last have, when they picked Chad Scott out of the University of Maryland in 1997.
Considering the hesitancy of the organization to use their first pick on a cornerback, the strategy once again could be to wait to draft the position. If they do, one of the more intriguing options might be LSU’s Jalen Collins.
Collins entered the draft early and is widely regarded as a second or third round pick by many draft experts. At 6’2” 195 pounds, the rangy Collins is the type of cornerback that can matchup with some of the bigger receivers in the game like Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, and Mike Evans, while have the straight line speed to face smaller, fleet footed wide outs like T.Y. Hilton and Torrey Smith.
With the Steelers reportedly planning to stick to a similar 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Keith Butler, Collins might be a great fit. Though Collins has the ability to play classic man-to-man principles, he also seems to have the skill set the Steelers desire at the position.
It’s possible the Steelers may change some of the philosophies they had under Dick LeBeau, and will ask their corners to play more man-to-man. If that’s the case, Collins can fit in any number of coverages; good enough to lock down receivers one on one, but also quite capable of working in zone coverages and supporting the run with his larger frame.
If one is looking for possible weaknesses with Collins, with his bigger frame, he will at times get a little sloppy with his footwork in coverage, making him a little risky if you are looking for a true lockdown corner to come in and make immediate impact. However, watching him play extensively the last three seasons (LSU fan here), his footwork issues can be addressed at the next level working with secondary coach Carnell Lake.
Also, in three seasons at LSU, Collins only picked off three passes. With the Steelers desperate for playmakers on defense, it’s possible this could be a strike against Collins.
Granted, he’s not likely to remind anyone of Deion Sanders in man coverage, there is no reason why he can’t flourish in the NFL as a starting cornerback. Plenty of speed, seems to recover well when he makes mistakes, and he’s played against top-flight competition both in the SEC and at LSU.
Collins regularly competed against former LSU standout wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr, who both excelled as rookies for the Dolphins and Giants. So you know he understands how to deal with NFL caliber receivers on a daily basis in practice.
Finally, Collins is regarded as a high character individual who has the maturity and focus to make the most of his NFL opportunity. If the Steelers do decide to once again wait to confront the cornerback position in the draft, Collins might be a tremendous value as a late second round pick.
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